Showing titles in Hard Science Fiction

A sweet-smelling, deadly cloud of poisonous gas has devastated the world, and as Adam Jeffson travels the stricken globe in search of human life, he slowly succumbs to madness and unleashes fire and destruction on his planet.

When humanity reaches for the stars, our probes are destroyed. They crash into an incredibly advanced piece of technology: a massive force-field. Unknown beings have placed a barrier around our star and planets, enclosing us within. We’re locked inside a Great Sphere. Was this invisible obstacle built to imprison us - or to protect us? No one knows the truth, but it soon becomes clear the barrier has leaks. Aliens infiltrate and try to sabotage our efforts to escape our cage.

When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission: skip in, find out the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet. By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission.

Trapped on an alternate Earth, the combined crews of a crashed Russian spaceship, a British expeditionary force and a group of strays from the future must work together to survive, escape and discover what led them to this point. All are from parallel universes where small changes in history led to different realities, and the tensions between the groups are rising.

Commodore Straker faces new enemies as neighboring interstellar empires decide his New Republic is a growing threat. A two-front war develops, and the Liberator must face both the Mutuality and the Hundred Worlds. Even as the fighting rages, the mysterious Opters are on the move. They make a diplomatic effort to reach out to Straker - but can he trust the Hive Masters? Will they help or stab him in the back?

The first interstellar ship, John Glenn, fled a solar system populated by rogue AIs and machine/human hybrids, threatened by too much nanotechnology, and rife with political dangers. The John Glenn’s crew intended to terraform the nearly pristine planet Ymir in hopes of creating a utopian society that will limit intelligent technology, but by some miscalculation they have landed in the wrong system.

In 2315, the Earth Union is losing a 30-year-long war with the Krag Hegemony. Having encountered the Krag before, Space Commander Max Robicheaux now faces daunting challenges aboard the USS Cumberland: The dangers from the enemy without…and clashes with crew and superiors within. Meanwhile, Doctor Sahin receives a coded message summoning him to a secret meeting which aims to forge an alliance that could change the balance of power in Known Space.

From New York Times best-selling author Mira Grant comes a vision of a decade in the future, where humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease. We owe our good health to a humble parasite—a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system—even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

Two years have passed since comet Anduru skimmed the clouds of Saturn on its way to Earth. Kath and Nolan are looking for answers, trying to find ways to protect Earth from the possibility of an invasive alien species overrunning the planet.

A forgotten colony of humans live on a water world circling a tiny, faded star on the edge of the galaxy. The crew of their newest flagship, the Rampart, encounters an alien scout who is being chased by a dangerous foe. The encounter shakes the beliefs held by the people of Lashmere. With the aid of the mysteries of the origin tablet, they discover the true origins of their colony. These may be the last humans in the universe. Can they survive against their ancient enemy? Their only choice is to embrace an unknown past and fight with everything they have.

It is twenty years after the catastrophic war between the US and China that brought down the old American political order. A new party has emerged in the US, one that’s held power for over a decade. Efforts to tighten its grip have resulted in mounting violent resistance. The American president has control of the media, but he is beginning to lose control of the streets. Many fear he’ll stop at nothing to remain in the White House. Suddenly, he collapses in the middle of an address to the nation. After an initial flurry of misinformation, the administration reluctantly announces his death.

Masoul wasn't just an uprising; it was the starting of a war. Harmony didn't start on Masoul; they were using it as a testing ground. Moretti has a lead on from where Harmony might have come. First, they need to defeat Harmony's forces in Osdal. Nerva's not going to throw his people at Harmony; this is not just a colonist uprising, this is a well-armed and well-backed military. They need more information. It comes down to the Triple-Twos to find out that information. Once again, the Victor brothers and their platoon will be right at the heart of Harmony.

Nick Hall has revolutionary electronics implanted in his brain that allow him to read minds - including thoughts, memories, and even intent. He can know the passwords, future strategies, and innermost secrets of anyone he chooses, making him the most formidable man alive. But his status as the only mind reader in the world is about to change...

Richards – a Level 5 AI with a PI fetish – and his partner, Klein, a decommissioned German military cyborg, are on the trail of a murderer, but the killer has hidden inside a fragmenting artificial reality. Richards and Klein must stop him before he becomes a god – for the good of all realities.

For years, Filio Amorosa has had one goal, and only one goal: getting back to Mars. All that matters is finding out what happened on her mission there, and why she can’t remember any of it. But when she finally discovers the truth, it blows her whole world apart. Meanwhile, on Earth, Agatha Devenworth and Pano Hofer have a new mission: Travel from the Human Foundation’s secret underground base to New York to uncover what the enemy is plotting.

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

When scientist Lisa Duncan and Special Forces officer Mike Turcotte uncovered the stunning truth about Area 51--a "training area" on Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada--they opened up a Pandora's box kept hidden from the American public for 50 years.

Britain, the not-too-distant future. Idir is taking the British Citizenship Test. He wants his family to belong. Twenty-five questions to determine his fate. Twenty-five chances to impress. When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death. How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?

Where life as we know it is impossible, the real adventure begins. Venus is a hostile planet, covered by active volcanoes, but NASA launches an expedition to search for life there anyway. Their specially developed airship cruises in the clouds of Venus to serve as a research platform for its four astronauts. When they discover dangerous activities on the glowing-hot surface, there can only be one explanation: A highly sophisticated life form must be at work.

Scientist Dr. Martin Riley hopes to solve the world's plastic pollution problem and get very rich in the process, but the bacterium Ideonella Sakaiensis has its own agenda. Riley engineers a new strain of bacteria to tackle the ever-growing plastic pollution crisis. Initially, he is hailed as a hero and awarded a Nobel Prize, but the bacteria attack all the plastic on the planet, destroy the internet and bring an end to the Digital Age.